HELD EVERY FIVE YEARS SINCE 1975

The National Chopin Piano Competition

Renowned as one of the premier piano competitions in the world, and a pivotal stepping stone toward a career in piano performance

WHAT THIS COMPETITION IS ALL ABOUT

Celebrating American Pianists Every Five Years

① All Chopin, from the first round to the finals

Rules and repertoire mirror the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Competitors play nothing but Chopin, across every stage, from the preliminaries to the concerto final.

② A career-launching prize

The First Prize carries a substantial cash award, a concert tour, and a studio recording released on the Steinway & Sons label.

③ A pathway to Warsaw

Top prize winners receive automatic acceptance to the International Chopin Piano Competition — bypassing the preliminary rounds that stop most applicants.

Stay Tuned for 2030

  
By the NumbersFive decades of excellence>50Years since the first Competition
11Competitions held
500+Applicants across five decades
200+Pianists selected, from 30 states
7American pianists have won top prizes in Warsaw since 1975

The 11th Competition · January 2025

William Yang

First Prize

Yang took First Prize at the 11th National Chopin Piano Competition, along with two special prizes, and went on to place Sixth at the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw later the same year.

Also awarded: Best Mazurka·Best Sonata·Sixth Prize, Warsaw 2025

Anthony Ratinov Second Prize

Nathaniel Zhang Third Prize

Celebrating Generations of American Pianists across Eleven Competitions and running

Check back soon for our winners gallery, dating back to 1975!

How the Prizes Work

What the last Competition awarded

In the 11th Competition (2025), the prize structure was:

$100,000Underwritten by Blanka A. Rosenstiel and the Rosenstiel Foundation
First Prize with a concert tour and a studio recording on the Steinway & Sons label: William Yang

$30,000Underwritten by Brenda Bruce Fountain
Second Prize: Anthony Ratinov

$20,000Underwritten by Olga Melin, In Memory of David Melin
Third Prize: Nathaniel Zhang

$5,000Underwritten by Gray & Sons Jewelers and Keith & Agnes Gray; the Chopin Foundation of the United States with support from Edith Friedheim, and the Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition in memory of Richard Lubman; and Lynn Atkinson and David Drucker
Fourth: Angeline Ma, Fifth: William Ge, and Sixth: Angie Zhang Prizes — each

Special prizes · $2,000 each

Best Mazurka: William Yang
Best Polonaise: Karina Tseng
Best Sonata: William Yang
Best Concerto: Nathaniel Zhang

Each semifinalist not advancing to the finals received $1,000.

START PRACTICING NOW FOR 2030

Applications open in 2029

The 12th National Chopin Piano Competition takes place in 2030, with applications opening the year before.

Eligibility mirrors Warsaw's. The 2025 edition was open to U.S. citizens born between 1995 and 2009; previous First Prize winners are not eligible to compete again.

Full rules, repertoire, and application requirements for the 12th Competition will be published in 2029 and will mirror those set forth by the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw.